Nantes creates a body to demand a referendum on the attachment of Loire-Atlantique to the Brittany region

A demonstrator holds a Breton flag during a rally for the attachment of the Loire-Atlantique department to the Brittany region, on March 12, 2016 in Nantes, western France. JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD / AFP

Should the Loire-Atlantique department be attached to the Brittany region? The city of Nantes, for its part, set up a body on Friday May 5, bringing together around twenty communities, who want to request the holding of a referendum on this question.

The first initiative of this body was to send a letter to the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, stating that “Citizens are today asking to be able to express themselves on the organization of the territories in which they live”. “Our communities support this civic demand. Today, a democratic outlet seems essential to us”add the signatories, including the Regional Council of Brittany, large cities such as Nantes, Lorient or Vannes, but also smaller towns, such as Hennebont, in Morbihan.

The Loire-Atlantique department is part of the Pays de la Loire region, but several ***ociations and elected officials have long campaigned for its attachment to the Brittany region, citing cultural and historical reasons.

“The city of Nantes has set up a body that brings together communities of various demographic sizes” Who “aims to be the interlocutor of the State to request a referendum, to ensure that it is properly held, of the correct perimeter, and also that the choice of citizens will be truly respected”explained Florian Le Teuff, deputy mayor of Nantes in charge of Breton issues.

A campaign promise

The creation of this instance “aimed at engaging in consultation with the State to obtain a referendum” was a campaign promise during the municipal elections of 2020, recalled Mr. Le Teuff, after a press briefing held symbolically within the walls of the Château des Ducs de Bretagne, in Nantes.

“After decades of endless debate on this subject (…), we realize that we had thought of everything, except to ask the inhabitants what they think, so that is the goal of our approach”underlined Mr. Le Teuff.

In the letter addressed to M.me Borne, it is recalled that“in 2018, 105,000 citizens of Loire-Atlantique – i.e. 10% of the electorate – signed a petition asking to be able to vote on the question of the administrative attachment of their department to the Brittany region”.

The World with AFP